Professional Development for Teachers

Professional Development

Professional development activities under TPS progress along three program levels. Teachers have the option of taking workshops and courses, offered by TPS Consortium Members, under all or some of these levels, depending on their interests.

Under the TPS Regional Program, interested organizations can incorporate parts of the TPS curriculum that meet their professional development goals for teachers with support from Regional Coordinators and online resources for professional development.

Level I

Teachers become familiar with the breadth and organization of the Library of Congress' digital primary sources, understand their value in instruction and create basic inquiry-based learning experiences.

Participants:

• Learn what primary sources are and understand their value in teaching
• Learn how to locate and navigate the Library of Congress Web site
• Learn how to access, save and present primary sources from the Library of Congress' Web site
• Gain a foundational understanding of effective instructional practices for teaching with primary sources
• Create instructionally sound learning experiences that integrate primary sources from the Library of Congress

Level II

Teachers evaluate, create and teach topic-specific, content-informed lessons that integrate primary sources from the Library of Congress and exemplify effective instructional practices

Participants:

• Gain a thorough understanding of effective instructional practices using primary sources and can identify exemplary learning experiences
• Learn to identify exemplary learning experiences
• Create standards-based learning experiences integrating primary sources from the Library of Congress that exemplify effective practice
• Teach, assess and reflect on their experiences using primary sources in instruction
• Evaluate primary source-based learning experiences
• Investigate the effects of primary source-based instruction on student learning

Level III

Experienced teachers advocate the use of primary sources and help disseminate the ideas, methods and products of the Teaching with Primary Sources program.

Participants:

• Mentor colleagues on the effective instructional uses of primary sources
• Evaluate learning experiences for widespread dissemination and use
• Interact and collaborate with other teachers who are using Library of Congress primary sources
• Conduct research into the effective use of primary sources in education
• Contribute to the use of effective practices for using primary sources in instruction by speaking at gatherings of educators and/or leading professional development activities.

The Library's partners offer professional development free of charge, with the exception of for-credit undergraduate and graduate courses. Most award continuing education credit.

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